Weapons & explosives unearthed at Punjab University
Bag full of weapons and explosives unearthed at Punjab University
Lahore, Sep 22: Fear gripped the Punjab University (PU) hostel students on Sunday after a bag containing automatic weapons and explosives was found buried under a tree, resulting in the immediate tightening of security measures.
PU Hostel Security In-charge Arshad Butt said that some children had found the bag while digging under the tree and informed a gardener, who had discovered weapons from the bag upon closer inspection, and notified the authorities.
PU Chief Security Officer Abdulrahman Siyal said that they had recovered five Kalashnikovs, 12 hand grenades, 12 magazines and 1,280 bullets from the bag. He said that the weapons had been handed over to the Muslim Town Police Station.
Administration and students, expressing their concern over security, said that political groups might be involved in the incident. A PU security official admitted that the weapons had most likely been buried by one of the political groups in the varsity, against which the administration had taken action in the past.
Condition: The Muslim Town Police Station Station House Officer (SHO) confirmed that the administration had handed over the weapons to the police, however, he said that the condition of the armaments pointed towards them being buried a long time ago.
Safe: A PU student, Rehan, said that the incident was a result of poor security measures around the campus. He said that a number of incidents of mobile phone snatching and motorcycle theft had taken place inside the varsity. He also said that the incident had shown students that they were no longer safe on campus. Another student said that the incident had been staged by the administration in order to draw attention away from various issues facing the institution, including the current tension between the Vice-Chancellor and the teaching staff.
A female student, Saima, said that the administration was wrong to blame political groups for the incident. She said that the incident was a failure on the part of the administration, adding that female students were not satisfied with the security around the girls' hostels. She demanded that the administration take steps to increase security for female students.
Responsible: PU Academic Staff Association (PUASA) President Dr Mumtaz Ahmad Salik said that the recovery of weapons from the university was very disturbing and demanded that security measures be increased around the institution. He said that it seemed like terrorists were now turning to educational institutions, adding that no political group inside the university could be responsible for hiding the weapons.
Investigation: PU Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT) Nazim Rana Zahid said that the since the administration had recovered the weapons, they were in a better position to know the facts. He said that the days when students kept weapons at the varsity had passed, and demanded an investigation into the matter.
'PU administration unable to take action against alleged militants'
Lahore: University Students Federation (USF) Media Secretary Munawar Saleem Ahmad said that students belonging to the USF condemned the weapons and explosive materials recovered, especially after the recent bombing of the Marriott Hotel, the aftershocks of which are still being felt across the country. He said that while this was a unique incident for the PU, university students, through the media, had expressed their concerns to the administration and the governor about illegal residents who were suspected to be trained militants a few months ago. He said that they had asked the government to take action against the illegal residents, however, the administration had been unable to do so. He added that the USF students appealed to the administration to take strict notice of the incident and to bring those responsible to justice immediately. Daily Times
